


Of Ponchos and Calzones (and Reckless Idiots)

by Nycis



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order (Video Game), Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: After endgame, Calzone - Freeform, I am calling this ship Calzone, IT WILL BE DONE, M/M, Slow-ish burn, THIS IDEA JUST JUMPED INTO MY HEAD AND I COULDNT GET RID OF IT, and i wrote this seriously, crack but like serious, just like squint at canon really hard, post or during season 4, take your pic, there are feelings, timelines don't really work
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:14:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26484742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nycis/pseuds/Nycis
Summary: When destiny brings Cal Kestis and Ezra Bridger together, the two young Jedi are forced to work together. With the Rebellion igniting across the outer rim, the duo take it upon themselves to guard the welfare of force sensitive children, now placed in danger, across the Galaxy.This is an idea I had one day, and I decided to write. It doesn't make a huge amount of sense and you really have to squint at canon, but these two idiots are a lot alike and both adorable.
Relationships: Cal Kestis/Ezra Bridger, Calzone
Comments: 28
Kudos: 39





	1. The Phantom Calzone

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the first fic I've posted in... a while. You have to fiddle with the timelines a bit, but in my head Cal is a year or two older than Ezra, and much younger when the purge happened. My tumblr is @nycis, come and chat if you want. I hope you have a wonderful day!

This was a terrible idea. Cere had told him so. So had Merrin, hell, even Greeze had agreed. This was such a terrible idea. And yet Cal Kestis still found himself sprinting through a maintenance shaft of Mygeeto Imperial Internment Camp Echo-7B with two young twins in tow. He had the smaller one in his spare hand while the other ran behind them.

With a few swift movements he deflected two blaster bolts with his ignited lightsaber, one of the deflected bolts striking it’s shooter's chest, sending the stormtrooper tumbling back.

“Not much further now.” He panted out as they reached an intersection, trying to reassure himself as much as the twins. “We’re almost there.” BD-1 chimed a few supportive beeps from his usual spot on Cal’s other shoulder.

“You sure buddy? I don’t want a repeat of the Lothal mess.” The next series of sounds were much more erratic and annoyed, “Alright, alright, I know it wasn’t your fault, your memory banks were scrambled by that EMP. Left it is.”

Using his lightsaber to slash through the centre of the plasteel door, Cal holstered his weapon and made an open palm with his hand. The material of the door vibrated for a moment but as Cal let out a steadying breath, he felt the force flow through him and the two frames of the door peeled apart, leaving a small gap.

Putting the twin he was holding down, Cal turned to the siblings and tried to put on a brave face. “Can both you squeeze through there? I’ll be right behind them and Beedee can show you the way.”

The twins give each other a nervous look but Grace, the more confident of the two, gave him a determined nod and the pair followed BD-1. The ground rumbled again. He had been on an intel mission, scope out the facility, work out an infiltration route and try to positively identify the twins. That kind of thing. But when the explosions started on the other side of the facility, he wasn’t going to waste the distraction and frankly he didn’t feel right leaving those kids in the middle of all that chaos. So he had set off without a plan, no back up and into some kind of prison riot. Needless to say, that is why there was now most of a platoon of stormtroopers chasing them.

Taking a deep breath, Cal refocused himself. He felt his body calm and align. He felt the vibrations within him rippling out then into the world around him and he felt the reverberations of the world in return. He felt the Force.

The jedi stepped back out into the corridor, a dozen boots squealed against the floor in shock and surprise. Cal took the moment of abrupt bewilderment as an opportunity and reached out, whatever explosions that were going on above him had weakened the integrity of the tunnel. Pushing outwards with the force, he found a weak spot in the ceiling and with all his might, pulled back. The ground rumbled again, but this time it was his own doing, as chunks of duracrete tumbled from above, blocking the passage off.

That was one problem taken care of, but they still needed to get back to the Mantis safely. Cal winced as the ground around him shook again, they needed to get out of here fast. He was reminded of the way the Partisans tore through Kashyyyk, the Empire inspired such vitriol in its insurgents, Cal wouldn’t be surprised if there was nought left of the facility but ash and broken stormtrooper helmets.

It took him two minutes to catch up with twins and BD-1, they were sheltering behind a door. The problem became apparent quickly, the metal frame of the door was crumpled with rock, sparks flying out of its busted control panel.

“Kriff.” Cal muttered, before quickly silencing himself, he felt guilty about swearing in front of the younglings, even if the situation warranted it. “Beedee, can you find us another route?”

The twins exchanged another nervous look and Cal’s heart twinged as he noticed the tightness that they were gripping each other’s hands. It’s not like they weren’t in danger by being here already, but his involvement could damn them to a life they didn’t ask for. A life of being hunted by the Empire, and worse, the Inquisitors. Still. He felt like he had no choice. He was a Jedi, and someone was in danger.

BD-1’s excited chirping pulled Cal from his momentary guilt.

“Alright guys, new plan.” He set off again, following the droid’s directions through the weaving tunnels and cramped shafts. After a few more dead ends, muffled curses from Cal and frightened yelps from the twins, the quartet emerged into an empty hangar. From the looks of it, the place had been unused for a while, a layer of dust covered the floor and he could rust on most of the metal around. “Good job, buddy. I remember passing by some of these derelict buildings on our way in. Do you think you can slice open the hangar doors and signal Greeze to pick us up from here?”

The droid made an affirmative sound and scuttled off towards the control panels, while Cal turned around to face the twins again, offering them a warm smile. “We should be safe here, all we need to do is lay low for just a few-”

The sound of rusted metal tearing open interrupted as the whole structure shook. Cal turned just in time to see a body get thrown through a newly created window in the side of the hangar, a body that then collided into him. Cal felt himself get catapulted back as the pair of them rolled across the uneven floor, where they finally came to stop. He let out a gasp for air, realising he was now pinned under the other figure.

The body, another man now Cal had a closer look at his figure, groaned. They were both still alive then. He had short dark hair, pale features and a small scar running along his left cheek. It took for a moment, but then the other boy started to pull himself up, shaking the disorientation from his brain. He blinked a few times before looking down at Cal, obviously trying to assess his situation.

Cal stared up at bright blue eyes. “Um, hi?”


	2. Attack of the Ponchos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think a rare pair fae spirit must have possessed me because I wrote this in a frenzy. Enjoy and hope you are having a wonderful day!

Being thrown through a wall wasn’t Ezra’s preferred method of meeting cute guys, but it sure was a memorable one. His breath hitched slightly as he realised the position he found himself in. He was staring down at the ginger below him, their eyes mirroring each other's look of bewilderment.

He shook his head, trying to clear it and reorient himself, there were more pressing concerns right now.

“Um, hi?” The man below him stammered out.

Ezra felt a small grin sneak onto his face, “Hi.” He responded, mentally scathing himself, he was supposed to be a jedi knight, a wielder of great and mysterious powers, a freedom fighter against the Empire and all he could manage was a weak ‘Hi’?

A yell of rage and a flash of red brought him back to the present as he saw the inquisitor leaping through the whole his previously tossed body had created in the hanger’s wall. Their crimson saber ignited in an arc, headed straight for the pair of them. On reflex, he twisted around, one hand on the ground to support himself and raised the other, sending out a surge of the Force at their assailant. The inquisitor went flying backwards, but managed to recover and twisted in the air, landing on their feet which dragged long swipes across the dusty floor.

He momentarily turned back to the other boy, who looked a bit more than shocked. “Sorry. Not a great time.” Ezra offered apologetically.

Rolling to the side and back onto his feet, Ezra surveyed the room around him. They weren’t the only ones in the room, as well as the ginger guy, two kids were huddled nervously by a small droid, who was intently tapping away at a control panel with its scomp link. And there, his lightsaber lay idly on the ground where it rolled after his impact.

Using the Force again, Ezra reached out and drew his weapon back into his hand and ignited it, just in the nick of time, too. Green clashed against red. Sparks of kaleidoscopic energy flew out in all directions as his lightsaber’s blade held back the inquisitor’s.

“You just don’t know when to give up, do you Bridger?” The inquisitor snarled, venom dripping from their voice.

Their blades parted and the inquisitor unleashed a fresh array of strikes, Ezra moved quickly to deflect each and every one but had to concede ground against the ferocious onslaught. He gritted his teeth. “Says the inquisitor. What's your name? You must be, what, the Fifteenth sibling? That’s because the rest of your ‘family’ all failed.” He taunted, probably not wise, but it had been a long day and he had just been thrown through a wall, so who could blame him?

“And you shall pay for each and every one of my family’s failings, you treacherous Jedi dog.”

“Do they teach all of you the same insults at inquisitor school or are you all really just that uninspired?”

The inquisitor let out another vehement cry, withdrawing again but only to start rotating their blade. The red soon became a blur and the inquisitor reengaged, the vicious blade swinging in wide arcs. Superheated fragments of duracrete sprang up from the ground where the lightsaber dragged along it. Ezra dodged to the left once, and jumped over a second attack before lunging forward in an attempt to riposte. The inquisitor clearly anticipated the attack though and brought their lightsaber down hard, the impact of the blades stopping its whir of motion. Ezra felt himself fall forwards as the red saber drove his blade against the ground, pinning it to the floor and bringing him down to his knees with it.

He silently cursed in his head. This couldn’t be it, this couldn’t be where his luck finally ran out, in some derelict hangar in the backend of an unimportant planet. He wondered if Kanan had felt the same. No. He had gone heroically saving those he loved, not a couple of kids and one handsome stranger he’d only just met.

The inquisitor’s eyes gleamed with malice. Using one end to jeep Ezra’s ignited blade pinned against the floor, they pivoted the other end of their saber around, arcing directly towards his head.

Ezar held his breath, bracing himself. He just hoped he had done his master proud.

Blue.

A current of sparking blue light blocked the sinister strike, right in front of his face. His first thoughts lept to Kanan, but that was impossible. Had Ashoka somehow followed him here? No. Looking up, he saw it was the stranger, his ginger locks flowing around his face, green eyes illuminated weirdly in the clash of red, green and blue.

The other man used both hands to thrust back against the inquisitor's blade, sending their opponent stumbling backwards.

“You alright down there?”

“Um,” Ezra stumbled over his words, not entirely sure on the protocol for when being saved by a white knight in shining armour. Usually it was him who did the miraculous rescuing. “Yeah.”

“Excellent. Two Jedi heads I can serve up to Lord Vader, he will be most pleased.”

“Cal Kestis.” The newly introduced jedi announced, offering him a hand up, which Ezra gladly took.

“Ezra. Ezra Bridger.” He paused for a moment, taking a closer look at his new ally, “Are you wearing a poncho?”

“And what about it?” Cal grinned cockily at him. “Actually, I think we have some more pressing issues right now.”

Ezra nodded and snatched up his blade again, both Jedi turned to face their opponent, twirling their contrasting blades into defensive stances. In a moment, the inquisitor was upon them again, snarling in iridescent rage. Lightsabers clashed against lightsabers in a flurry of action, if the fight wasn’t so deadly, the light show might even be considered beautiful. Their enemy moved like a rabid nydak, furious swing after furious swing met the green and blue blades, but none of them hit their targets. The pair of Jedi soon found a rhythm between them, Cal parrying blows so Ezra could riposte and in return his counterattacks would give space for Cal to maneuver.

They quickly turned the tide and found themselves on the offensive, pushing the inquisitor further and further back. Before long their opponent grew more outmatched, desperation creeping onto their cowled and malformed face. Letting out a low grunt of frustration, they sent Ezra tumbling back with a particularly strained force push but Cal stopped any hope of them regaining ground with his own series of strikes and lunges.

The screeching of rusted and unused machinery groaning back to life only momentarily paused the combat as the main overhead hangar doors shuddered and began to open. Ezra felt the exhaust of a ship’s repulsor engines throw his hair asunder. The sleek silhouette of a ship began descending above them, landing gear stretching out beneath it.

“That’s our ride!” He heard Cal call, still locked in combat. Ezra picked himself up from the ground and reignited his lightsaber to rejoin the duel. “No, get the kids aboard!”

They both seemed to realise the mistake at the same time, as three sets of eyes turned to focus on the twins huddled together on the other side of the hangar. Ezra felt his heart drop into his stomach at the sound of a sinister chuckle and a sudden whirl of red flew across his vision, directly towards the younglings. 

But then it stopped.

The inquisitor’s lightsaber literally froze mid-air, vibrating unnaturally. Cal let out a groan of effort, hand outstretched towards the weapon. “Ezra. Now.” He said through gritted teeth.

Ezra rushed into action, holstering his weapon and sprinting past the suspended lightsaber and towards the terrified siblings. He scooped them up, one in each arm and started towards the ship’s extended boarding ramp. He shot a concerned look over at Cal, and for good reason, just in time to see the inquisitor raise a vibroknife, about to pounce on the preoccupied Jedi.

“Cal!” He shouted in warning.

The Jedi in question turned just in time to catch the inquisitor’s arm. The red blade began to spin once again, the vibrations ceasing. Ezra dived forwards, trying to cover the twins as best he could. Searing hot pain raced across him as the lightsaber glanced along his back, then clattering harmlessly against the wall and deactivating.

He groaned. That hurt.

The hatch of the ship in front of him hissed and opened, a pale woman, clad in red robes stood in the doorway.

“You are not Cal Kestis.” She gave him a discerning look, before her eyes scanned over the rest of the scene before her. “Come, little ones. You will be safe.”

Ezra turned his attention back to the floor, and primarily trying to get up from it, again. Jedi could take a lot of punishment, especially from physics, but he was going to have bruises everywhere. He heard the sounds of small, scampering feet go up the ramp, his success at keeping the younglings safe easing his pain somewhat.

Dragging himself back to verticality and brushing himself off, he turned around to see Cal throw the inquisitor back against the wall, hard enough to leave a crack when they crumbled to the ground. That gave Ezra a small smile.

Cal hesitated for a moment, but turned away from the figure and ran back towards him and the ship. The other Jedi quickly looped an arm around Ezra’s shoulder, which he gladly leaned into.

“Come on, I heard more Imperial ships. We need to make ourselves scarce.”

Ezra said nothing but nodded warmly to Cal as the pair boarded the Mantis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started having ideasTM so I think there is probably a lot more to come... hold onto your horses because we might be in for a long ride. My tumblr is @nycis come say hi if you want. And of course a big shoutout to the wonderful New SW Canon discord server that always helps me write! (Also say if you want to come join it!)


	3. Revenge of the Idiots

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team makes an escape attempt, Cal and Ezra get to share a moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was worried I had run out of inspiration but then I suddenly managed to hammer this out over the weekend. Big thanks to Mop for beta reading this for me and catching my dumb typos. Have a lovely day and look after yourself!

“Greeze, we need to go. Now!” Cal shouted through the ship’s lounge and past the holomap into the cockpit.

“You’re telling me, kid.” Greeze complained from his seat. “Half of the Imperials in the system are headed our way, who the hell did you piss off?”

Cal ignored him, instead returning his focus back to the fellow Jedi he was practically dragging into the ship. “I got you Ezra, come on.” He felt a distinct sense of guilt as his eyes gazed over Ezra’s back. He could still see the glow of smoldering embers where the inquisitor’s lightsaber had glanced across the other man’s tunic.

“M’fine.” Ezra mumbled out, his foot slipping against nothing

“Hey! Hey, stay with me.” Cal turned him and sat Ezra down on the ship’s couch.”Beedee? You here, buddy?”

With a few concerned chirps, BD-1 scurried across the ship's floor and jumped up onto the table. Ther droid took an inquisitive look at Ezra before scanning him over with a bright light.

“Yes, I’m sure we can trust him. He needs a stim, come on quick.”

The ship lurched suddenly, almost sending Cal tumbling to the ground. “Greeze you want to watch it maybe?” He called out, only half serious.

“There’s only so many TIE fighters I can dodge. You want to swap, kid? How about you fly this thing and I gaze wistfully at wounded strangers you drag aboard my ship.”

Cal felt himself blush, “Alright, fine.” He took one last look at Ezra and BD-1, before sighing reservedly and running over to the cockpit.

“Attaboy.” Greeze motioned to the infopanels at the side of the cabin, “You need to slice through their transmissions, see if you can spoof our transponder code.”

Cal got to work, tapping away at the console. He still wasn’t good at this, but hopefully, with a bit of luck and the Force on their side, it would be fine. “Can’t you just get us into hyperspace?”

“Ha, I wish!” Greeze made another sudden motion and the ship was wrenched to the side again as a TIE fighter screeched by the starboard side. “This far into the atmosphere with all the Imperial ships up there and we’ll probably end up as a cloud of atoms if we try to jump. Cere did show you how to do that, right?”

“Yeah, I think.” Cal waved him off, after a moment of fiddling with the controls, his Force psychometry guiding him. It was like muscle memory that he never learnt, as if Cere were acting through him. “We ran into an inquisitor.”

“Yeesh, those guys really give me the creeps, ”Greeze shuddered, “So, who’s the kid, he some kind of Jedi too?”

Cal nodded, “Yeah, something like that.” He felt his ears pop with the change in air pressure as the Mantis started exiting the atmosphere and the deep black expanse of space filled the horizon.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t know,” Cal sighed, “I didn’t exactly have time to ask him for his life story. But he took a lightsaber for those kids, that’s good enough for me. I think the inquisitor was after him, that makes him our friend.”

Greeze nodded, “Alright kid, good work.” He pulled a lever and with a lurch the ship jumped into hyperspace.

With a heavy sigh, Cal leaned back into the seat. The adrenaline had started to wear off a while ago and he felt himself giving in to the fatigue. Still, he should check on their guest first. Cal pulled himself out of the seat and toast the holotable into the lounge of the mantis.

Ezra was sat on the couch, but leant forward, probably to avoid letting his back touch anything. He had a pained expression but still let out a soft laugh.

“The inquisitors’ fortress?! You guys have had some adventures too, then.” He said, his light laugh a ready sight for Cal’s weary mood.

BD-1 beeped a series of noises in response, evidently deep in conversation with Ezra. That was a good sign, BD-1 tended to be a good judge of character and Cal really hoped that their new acquaintance wasn’t some kind of Imperial double agent.

Cal leant back against the holotable to face the apir. “You giving away all our secrets, eh Beedee?”

BD-1 took a step back and turned to Cal and then back to Ezra a few times, making an apologetic noise.

“Nah,” Cal chuckled, “Don’t worry about it buddy. Just leave out all the bad bits.”

“Sounds like you guys have been busy.” Ezra turned his attention towards Cal, nonchalantly leaning back and stretching an arm over the back of the sofa, only to be reminded of the pain in his back and quickly relenting.

A small smile curled onto the edge of Cal’s mouth, “Yeah, we certainly have. Hey, I think we have some bacta gel around here somewhere. You took a nasty hit there.”

Ezra nodded and carefully got up from his seat, stumbling slightly. Cal moved forward in alarm and grabbed the other boy’s arm, stabilising him. They both looked up and met the other’s gaze. Cal realised how close they were suddenly and a small blush bloomed into his cheeks.

“Oh, uh, thanks.” Ezra mumbled out, not breaking eye contact.

Cal gulped and nodded, not trusting himself to speak given the current situation. It was an inquisitive beep from BD-1 that broke the spell on Cal, “Oh. Yeah. Hey Beedee, why don’t you go make sure Greeze doesn’t crash the ship.”

With Ezra hanging onto his arm, they made their way up the small set of stairs and into the ship's corridors, down into the workshop at the stern.

“Wow.” Ezra said as Cal set him down on the edge of his makeshift bed.

Cal ran a hand through his curls, feeling embarrassed, “Yeah, sorry. It’s a bit of a mess back here…” He trailed off, trying to surreptitiously sweep some spare parts to the side with his foot before turning to the lockers behind him. He knew they kept some bacta gel in case of injury, in all honesty, he was surprised they don’t have to use it more often.

“No,” laughed Ezra, the sweet sound flustering more butterflies in Cal’s stomach, “It’s cool.”

“I used to be a scrapper, I was always tinkering around with parts we scavenged from ships. It’s come in handy now though.” Cal tapped his lightsaber, hanging from his belt. With a small cry of celebration, he emerged from the depths of the storage locker, holding a tube of bacta gel. “What about you? We don’t exactly meet a lot of Jedi, there must be an interesting story there.”

Ezra shrugged and his head fell slightly, “Not exactly sure I count as a Jedi.”

“You certainly looked like one out there.”

“Thanks. My master picked me up off the streets of Lothal.” Ezra raised his head again slightly and met Cal’s eyes, the beginnings of a smile making their way onto his expression. “Well, more like I tried to rob him and we ended up having to hide from Imperials together. When he realised I was force sensitive… well the rest is history.”

Cal nodded and approached with the bacta gel. Ezra turned, back now facing Cal, to reveal the harsh burn across his tunic. He felt himself suddenly look away and blush yet again as Ezra started to pull it over his head, not quite sure what to do with himself. The flesh underneath was flushed and irritated but had mostly avoided direct contact with the lightsaber’s blade.

“How’s it looking?” asked Ezra.

“Good. You look good.” Cal instinctively hit himself in the face with his free hand, suddenly wanting the Mantis to collide with a purgill so he had an excuse to stop talking. “I mean it looks fine. You might have some scar tissue but I don't think there should be much permanent damage. I’ll put some bacta on anyway, should help with the pain and irritation.”

Ezra nodded wordlessly, wincing when the cool gel touched his back.

“So, uh, your master? What’s he like?” Cal asked casually, trying to distract both of them from the situation at hand. He was answered by silence. He realised Ezra had gone completely still in front of him and suddenly felt very guilty, it must be a sore subject. “Sorry, I’m overstepping-”

“He died.” The warmth had drained from Ezra’s harsh interjection.

Cal swallowed awkwardly as he finished applying the salve. “Sorry.” He managed to say meekly.

“It’s fine.” Ezra said, shrugging his tunic back on. “Look, I’m exhausted, if it’s all the same to you, would you mind if I get some rest?”

Cal nodded and got up, off the bed. “Yeah, bed’s all yours. Just... Okay. Bye” He found words fumbling out of his mouth and decided to make a swift exit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed it, I'm @nycis on tumblr, come say hi if you want! I'm loving these dorks, more to come...


	4. A New Poncho

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ezra opens up about the ghosts that haunt him and the spectors he's yet to face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone is having a great day, remember to eat something, hydrate yourself and do something fun! Big shoutout to Mop for beta'ing this for me <3 and to the whole New SW Canon discord server for being a constant source of positivity and inspiration <3

There was fire.

The wind battered against him.

The flames were so bright.

“You could have saved me, I didn’t have to die.” A skeletal hand pushed through the fire and towards him, the putrid smell of burning flesh still present in the air, “You did this! This is all your fault!”

Ezra woke with a start, crying out and gasping deep breaths as he tried to get the phantasmal rancid smell out of his lungs. He felt the world tumble around him as he collided with the cold metal floor of the workshop.

A moment later the door whizzed open, a white skinned figure appearing in the entranceway. The Nightsister, he failed to recall her name, looked at him with some mixture of concern, suspicion and curiosity.

“Why are you on the floor, Ezra Bridger?”

Ezra didn’t have a good answer for her, instead opting to try and level out his breathing instead. A moment later a second figure appeared, pushing past his female compatariot with expediency, worry evident on Cal Kestis’ face.

“Ezra?!” Cal exclaimed, practically sliding down onto his knees. He put an arm around Ezra’s back, careful to avoid his wound and slowly helped him to a sitting position. “Ezra, you’re alright, you’re safe.”

The next minute felt like a lifetime, but slowly Ezra managed to calm himself. His breathing steadied and he felt the erratic thumping in his chest return to its regular rhythm.

Ezra was ashamed to admit this had been going on for the past, since… since Kanan’s death. The terrors came every night. Sometimes it was Kanan, other times his parents or Ahsoka or Sabine or even the whole goddamn planet of Lothal.

“Ezra…” Even though it was barely more than a whisper, the cautious voice cut through his haze of grief and guilt.

At some point the Nightsister must have left because he and Cal were alone again. He tried to talk but found his raspy voice die in his throat. Trying to pull himself back together, he cleared his throat and turned to look at Cal. “Sorry.” He managed.

Cal simply nodded, offering him a kind smile and a moment to recover.

He let out a deep breath he hadn’t realised he was holding and started to pick himself off the floor. “Sorry, I just… it happens sometimes…” Ezra said, gesturing vaguely to the bed.

“Yeah.” Cal hesitated for a moment, before getting up himself and nodding his head to the door. “Come on, let’s get some air.”

Ezra looked down towards the borrowed bed and then turned to follow Cal, deciding anything would be better than trying to sleep again. “We’ve landed? Where?”

“Bogano.” Cal announced as the pair walked into the main living area of the ship. The pilot, named Greeze if Ezra recalled correctly, stood in the kitchenette section, two of his arms busy at work preparing food while another scratched his head. He gave them an inquisitive look, bordering on suspicious but turned his attention back to the food.

“Never heard of it.”Ezra admitted as they reached the ship's door.

Cal tapped a couple of keys on the pad by its side and the door opened, a sudden gust of cool air whistling past him. “No one has, it’s not on any maps, the imperials tracked us here once but that was on the other hemisphere. There’s a low field electromagnetic storm surrounding the planet- or something… Cere could give you the details, but it plays havoc with scanners.”

“Huh, this place would have been useful to us.” Ezra murmured as they stepped out onto the ramp. When Cal gave him an inquisitive look, he realised the need to explain himself. “We were looking for somewhere to hide a base.”

Cal didn’t say anything for a moment, instead beckoning Ezra to the landing gear, “You think you’re up for a climb?”

Ezra paused but then nodded. “Sure.”

Cal clambered onto the parked leg of the ship and started ascending the metal panels that made up the ship’s exterior, with an agility only the force lent. Ezra took a deep breath and followed him, Cal lending the other boy a hand for the final stretch. After a minute the pair were situated atop the ship, with a clear view over the grassy plane that stretched into the planet’s horizon.

“I like it here, Bogano’s peaceful.” Then, with a laugh, he admitted, “Plus, the boglings are cute.”

Ezra snickered, “I can understand that, back home we have Lothcats, most travellers think they’re just pests but I’ve always had a soft spot for them.”

After another moment of companionable silence, Cal finally piped up. “Who’s ‘we’ then? The Rebellion?”

Ezra paused. This could still all be some elaborate Imperial plot, the inquisitors had gone low enough to use fellow Jedi against them before, at least dead ones. Still, something told Ezra he could trust Cal. It wasn’t just the care always evident in his eyes, or the ferocity with which he defended the younglings, there was a goodness about him. Like an aura of light that flowed off him, he could feel it in the force.

Ezra trusted him. Implicitly.

“Yeah. Or at least a branch of it. Phoenix squadron, we call ourselves.”

“Catchy.”

Ezra let out another light laugh. It felt good, like old times on the Ghost, when everything had seemed so simple. When it didn’t feel like the weight of the galaxy rested on his shoulders, slowly crushing him underneath, bit by bit. When he still had Kanan to-

“Hey.” A light touch to his arm pulled him out of his own head. Cal had a tender, concerned look on his face, “I lost you there for a minute.”

“Sorry…” Ezra muttered, rubbing his forehead.

“You want to talk about it?”

“Not really…” He looked over at Cal, suddenly feeling nervous, “But I probably should.”

“I don’t want to push you.”

“Well, maybe I need a push. I haven’t had a full night’s sleep in over a kriffing month.” Ezra insisted and when Cal simply nodded supportively to him, he continued. “My master, Kanan, he was like a father to me. And he gave his life for us, so we could keep going, keep trying to liberate Lothal and overthrow the Empire. But it’s just so much. Every step forward we take Imperials, Thrawn, Inquisitors, they’re always right behind. And I don’t know what I’m doing, I’m barely a Jedi and now everyone’s looking at me for leadership…”

And so they talked. Looking up upon the Bogano’s moon and the rest of the stars twinkling away in the night’s sky, and Ezra felt more at rest than he had for a long time. At some point, Cal took off his poncho, laying it behind them as a makeshift blanket. And slowly Ezra felt his eyes shut and allowed the soft comfort of sleep to claim him. But this time there were decomposed revenants or visions of ruins.

He was at peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter might be a bit delayed, I'm working on a fic for the Batfam Big Bang which is starting posting on Monday 28th. I'd highly recommend you check it out, even if Batfam isn't your thing, there are so many talented people working on fics and art that deserve some recognition. Have a wonderful day and thanks for reading.


	5. Idiots strike back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cal and Ezra talk about their pasts and their futures

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! I haven't given up on this don't worry, I took a bit of a writing break after I published my 23k Batfam Big Bang fic and then got some other ideas I am also working on... but I think I have the rest of this all planned out now. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Big thanks to Mop on the New SW Canon Discord server for continually being a wonderful and amazing beta <3

Cal woke to the lazy ascent of Bogano’s sun, its dawning rays spilling a golden yellow across the green meadows and pools of the planet’s surface. It was so picturesque, the morning would be perfect if not for the pain in his back from the impromptu sleeping position atop the Mantis. He groaned and adjusted the poncho he was lying on, shuffling his body and turning over to his other side, where he almost collided with another body.

Right. Ezra.

Two blue eyes sleepily blinked open and Cal realised how close they were, barely hair’s breadth between their faces. Still, he had no impulse to move away, instead he felt a smile curl onto his lips, one that Ezra mirrored as his eyes came into focus.

“Hey,” He muttered, barely more than a whisper, like it was some sort of secret shared between them.

Ezra stared back smiling in silence for a moment and suddenly Cal felt his heart jump into his throat. After what felt like an eternity, the other boy replied quietly, “Hi.”

Ezra started shaking slightly, a quiet chuckle building in his stomach and the spell was broken. Quickly it spread to Cal who found himself joining in, rolling onto his back and letting out a few laughs of his own.

Cal turned back to look at him, “You sleep alright?”

Ezra gave a few small nods, sat up, stretching his arms, and let out a loud yawn. After a moment he fondly looked down at Cal, “Yeah, thanks.”

“Good.” Cal kept smiling, also gathering himself up from the poncho on the ship’s roof and letting out a yawn.

He set himself busy, picking up the poncho again and dusting it off when he realised how quiet Ezra was being, sitting on the edge of the roof and fidgeting awkwardly.

“You sure?” He asked tentatively, “Is something wrong?”

Ezra sat there for a moment, not meeting his eyes, instead gazing intently on his hands busy doing nothing. “Yeah, I just… What now?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well… from the sounds of it, you’ve got your hands full saving kids or whatever, and I’ve got to get back to Lothal.”

“I guess I hadn’t thought about that.” Cal sat down on the edge of the ship next to Ezra, swinging his legs over the side, facing the sunrise, “We’re on different paths.”

Ezra nodded sadly, looking up at him, “I don’t suppose I can convince you to come with me; back to Lothal, to Phoenix Squadron? We could always do with an extra Jedi, not to mention the padawans.”

Cal shook his head, “No. They’re not padawans, just kids, innocent kids the Empire are trying to hunt down.”

“So were we, maybe this is why we met. Maybe, the Force crossed our paths for this very reason.”

“I can’t do that to them, think about the life we live, Ezra. Running from place to place, risking our lives day in, day out. If they want to fight, then it has to be their choice.”

“We never got a choice, I’ve been fighting the Empire since I was fourteen.” Ezra said, looking down, a grim expression on his face.

Cal sighed because he knew it was true. Tentatively, he reached out and put a hand on Ezra’s shoulder, “Just because we didn’t get a choice doesn’t mean they don’t deserve one. If we’re not fighting to protect innocent people just like them, then what are we fighting for?”

Ezra put his hand over Cal’s and looked back up at him, making his heart flutter once again, “You’re right. So what’s your plan?”

“We’ve got a hideout, it’s safe. We take them back there and then work on relocating them. The best case scenario, we try to relocate them and their families to a different planet, maybe try and get them new identities if they need it.”

“But?”

Cal let out a sigh, removing his hand and instantly regretting the lack of warmth. “Well, an inquisitor saw the twins, plus they're orphans anyway. They might not be safe anywhere anymore, inquisitors don’t easily give up their hunt.”

Ezra nodded in agreement, “They’re tenacious bastards.”

“We have a few other kids back at the hideout who are being hunted too, Cere’s looking after them until we can figure out something more permanent, but the way things are going, nowhere will be safe soon. The Empire needs to go but the Rebellion is making warzones.”

“Well, if you’re there to protect them, they couldn’t be safer.” Ezra smiled at him.

Images flashed through Cal’s mind, younglings trying to fight back against purge troopers, falling to the darkness one by one-

No. That wasn’t going to happen.

Cal shook himself out of it, “What about you, why were you even on Mygeeto in the first place?”

“It’s a long story. There’s a pirate that’s been helping our cell in Lothal smuggle in weapons and equipment but the Imperials managed to pick him up. I was trying to break him back out when the inquisitor turned up, chased me halfway across Mygeeto, that’s when I found you. Or, well, you found me.”

“A pirate?” Cal raised his eyebrows.

“Hey, you’ve got a Nightsister on your crew! How did that happen?” Ezra laughed.

Cal shrugged, “That’s not my story to tell, but the Empire has no shortage of enemies, plus I think Merrin has a soft spot for kids. Come on, let’s get down before Greeze wakes up and thinks we’ve been eaten by an oggdo.”

“A what?!”

The jump down from the Mantis to the planet’s surface was no trouble for the pair of Jedi and when they entered the ship again, they were met by an odd sight. Merrin stood at the ship’s stove, wafting a stream of thick black smoke which emanated from it with one hand while menacingly pointing a spatula at one of the twins with the other.

“Small child, what are you doing?” She said through coughs, “Please put the Jogan fruits down, you have already eaten five.”

Across the room, Grace shot a disapproving look at her twin and Eli pouted but hesitantly put the fruit back in its now almost empty container. Cal waved his hand in a vain effort to clear some of the smoke, “Merrin, what are you doing?”

She simply shrugged, “Greeze is busy.”

“I can cook as well, you could have just called me, we were only on top of the ship.”

“I did not know where you were, Cal Kestis. You might have been dead and the small children were hungry.”

Cal shook his head, exasperated, as he reached the stove. “What… what were you even trying to cook? Actually never mind, I don’t want to know. Just throw this out before you set the ship on fire, Greeze usually has a bunch of snacks stashed away in the cabinet under the terrarium.”

He turned around to survey the rest of the chaos, only to find Ezra calmly playing with the twins. Their eyes were transfixed on a series of coloured marbles that floated in the air and danced around the Jedi’s fingers. In that moment, Ezra looked so calm and happy, the worries of the world replaced by the earnest smiles of the two children gazing up at him in wonder. The same happiness was reflected in Cal’s heart, even if it was overshadowed by the bittersweet knowledge he would have to leave soon.

They both had different missions, different duties and different people counting on them. It was only dumb luck and an inquisitor that had brought them together in the first place.

Wait. The inquisitor. That gave Cal an idea.

He ran into the ship’s cockpit, taking a seat at the control panel. Flicking a few switches, he reactivated it and started trawling through the data on the various displays.

“Yes.” He muttered to himself, a grin growing on his face. Turning, he shouted into the living area, “Hey, Ezra!”

After a moment and a couple of disappointed groans from the twins, the other Jedi walked up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder, “Yeah?”

Cal felt his heart rate double again, the contact burning through his clothes and onto his cheeks. He still didn’t understand why, maybe it was Ezra, or just the lack of any sort of regular contact with other people for so long. In all honesty, it was probably a combination thereof.

“We’re still sliced into the Imperial frequencies on Mygeeto, we are well out of range now but the system logs all the chatter it detects automatically.” Cal looked up at Ezra behind him, grin on his face, “Which includes this prisoner transfer manifest.”

Ezra returned his grin but raised an eyebrow in confusion, “And that helps us how, exactly?”

“Well if you’re an evil inquisitor, trying to hunt down a Jedi but now have no idea where they have gone, what would you do?”

Ezra paused for a moment, then understanding dawned on his face, “Make them come to you, lure them into a trap.”

“Exactly, but you need bait for that. What was the name of that pirate you were trying to rescue?”

“Hondo Ohnaka.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it, remember to eat something, keep hydrated and have a lovely day! If you want to come chat I'm @nycis on tumblr.

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to Eli, Grace, Mop and everyone else on the new canon SW discord server for being so supportive and fun, you lot are probably the only reason I'm writing for this fandom but I am so thankful for that I am. Take care of yourselves, eat, hydrate and keep rocking on <3


End file.
